Hello people and welcome to the third chapter of the forgotten dragon, sorry for taking so long, my mind wonder about other stories, anyhow here it is,
So, one thing I want to say, as much as I love The Legend of Korra, I advise you to not take anything that happens there into consideration in this story
I'm changing a lot of things and this is a Zutara story so obviously, things will be quite different in the future, so just picture the last air bender moments
Anyway getting back at the names for the dragon, there were some names I like so I will be taking them into consideration, so I thank you for your participation which brings me to my next question
I'm deciding or well, I'm juggling with the idea of making Suki a bender, a fire bender to be precise, I think it will be great to see Zuko teaching not only one but two fire-bending students
But I'll leave that decision to you, let me know what you think, so with that being said, enjoy the chapter, leave your comments, and have a nice day
Book 2: Burning
Chapter 3: The real me
Earth kingdom early in the day
Zuko and the gang had flown away from the altercation and quickly Sokka demanded to address Zuko being a fire bender and started to tie his hands
"Is all of this necessary?" Zuko asked as Sokka tied his hands behind him
"Shut up jerk bender," Sokka said with anger in his voice that only made Zuko sigh in defeat "You will stay here while we decide what to do with you," Sokka said as he shoved Zuko into the ground
Zuko saw Sokka walk towards where the others were and he sighed as he made himself comfortable on the ground, he crawled to where his bag was avoiding the watchful eyes of the Water Tribe duo
He managed to grab his cigarette case from his backpack and put it on top of the bag, he manage to pull out a cigarette and he turn, and lean to grab the cigarette with his mouth
He lit it up with his inner fire and started smoking as he dropped to the ground and lay on the floor
Then he heard Toph shouting and coursing at the other trio making Zuko turn to look at them and saw Toph heading his way
"Are you okay?" Zuko asked Toph in concern and the girl took a seat next to him
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Toph said and Zuko shrugged his shoulders taking a drag out of his cigarette
"Is not the first time I've been tied, you get used to it," Zuko said and then looked at Toph "Why were you shouting?" Zuko asked in concern
"They were saying mean things about you and then they said they wanted to leave you behind and I snapped," Toph said and Zuko smiled
"Thanks for taking care of me kiddo," Zuko said and Toph scoffed
"If I don't have your back who will?" Toph asked sarcastically making Zuko chuckle "Besides wherever you go I'll go am I right?" Toph said and Zuko took a drag out of his cigar
"Damm straight," Zuko said and then he sat up "I got the feeling that I will have to reveal some things about me, I hope you don't change your opinion about me," Zuko said looking straight at her
Toph scoffed and shook her head "I know you have a dark past and I don't care," she said and Zuko smirked
"You're really something else Toph," Zuko said affectionately and Toph smirked but said nothing as both of them sensed the others walking towards them
Zuko took a final drag out of his cigarette as he locked eyes with Aang and then he spits down his cigarette and let it die on the ground
"So, you're a fire-bender?" Aang asked already knowing the answer but Zuko nodded nonetheless "Why didn't you tell us before?" Aang said and Zuko thought for a second
"Well, I don't really hide it, after all, why do you think Toph calls me sparky?" He asked rhetorically and Toph chuckled
"You do also have a sparky personality, sparky," Toph said making Zuko's eyebrow twitch him anger "See," Toph said laughing at his reaction
"Anyhow," Zuko said bringing back the conversation to the right topic "I'm a fire nation citizen on the Earth Kingdom, obviously I wasn't going to shout out that I'm a fire bender," he said with a sarcastic chuckle on his voice
"So, you admit it you are the enemy," Sokka said glaring at him and Zuko looked at him in confusion
"The enemy? Who is the enemy?" Zuko asked in mock confusion and Sokka looked at him like he had grown a second head
"What do you mean who's the enemy? It's the Fire Nation of course" Sokka said and Zuko chuckle
"You certainly don't mean the whole Fire Nation, right?" Zuko asked sarcastically "Sourly you don't mean the people who are suffering from this war, do you?" He asked while anger started boiling in him, so he took deep breaths to calm himself
"People suffering?" Aang asked in concern and Zuko looked at him
"War is expensive, especially one that's been going for this long," Zuko said and then adjust himself to a more comfortable position
"The cities farthest away from the capital are the ones that are run dried, the capital takes their resources and people to fuel the war," Zuko explained and that bit of information caught the interest of Katara
"How do you know all of this?" Katara asked and Zuko sighed
"Guess I have to formally introduce myself," Zuko said while bowing to Aang "My name's Zuko son of Ozai, former crown prince of the Fire Nation, ex-lieutenant of squadron 66, and currently working mercenary, at your service," Zuko said and the trio jaws dropped in shock and Zuko hide his smirk when he saw the shocked looks of the trio
"You didn't tell me you were royalty," Toph said and Zuko looked at her with a smile
"I'm surprised you didn't realize it sooner," Zuko said "I still talk like a noble," he said and then looked back at the other trio
"Heh, you can take the prince of out the royalty, but you can never take the royalty out of the prince," Toph remarked making Zuko chuckle
"You're absolutely fucking right," Zuko said causing Toph to chuckle at his choice of words
"So, what should we do with him?" Sokka asked and the other two looked at him not knowing what to do
"If he goes, I go, simple as that," Toph threaten them and they looked at her in worry
"But I don't know if I can trust him," Aang said and Toph glared at him
"May I remind you that he could have helped that fire-bending chick to capture you if he really was the enemy?" Toph asked sarcastically
"Toph is okay, I got this," Zuko said as he untangle his hands from the binding making the trio take battle stances Zuko in a sign of peace put his hands up
"Take a seat Avatar, let's have a chat," Zuko said as Aang complied with what Zuko said
"What do you know about Fire bending?" Zuko asked as he stared at the grey eyes of Aang
"I know that it takes a lot of responsibility, and I didn't have that when I tried to fire bend for the first time," Aang said piquing the interest in Zuko
"You fire bend before?" Zuko asked in curiosity and Aang nodded
"While we were traveling towards the North Water Tribe, we came across this fire bender master, and I beg him to teach me," Aang said
"First he didn't want to, said I lack disciplined, and I had to learn Water-bending and Earth-bending first," Aang said and Zuko nodded his head
"He was right," Zuko said as he crossed his arms "I'm guessing things didn't go well, am I right?" Zuko asked in curiosity
"No, I got overzealous and ended up burning Katara," Aang said looking at the water-bender girl with a guilty look
"Fire is dangerous, that's for sure, that's why you need to understand water bending and earth bending first before dwelling on my element," Zuko said as he grabbed a stick from the floor
Zuko started drawing a symbol on the ground with his finger "This world for all is interests, functions quite easily, four elements dived our world," Zuko said
"Fire, the element of power," Zuko said as he started drawing a fire symbol everyone started to pay close attention to him "The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want," Zuko said ending his fire symbol
Aang was paying close attention to what Zuko was saying
"Earth, the element of substance," Zuko said as he started drawing a symbol of the earth kingdom above the symbol of the fire nation "The people are diverse and strong, they are persistent and enduring," Zuko said
"Of course, we fucking are," Toph said with a smirk on her face
"What's all this about?" Katara asked and Aang and Sokka nodded feeling the same way, but Zuko ignored them and continue with his drawings
"Shush, when Zuko gets like this you better listen," Toph said and the trio look at Zuko with interest
"Air, the element of freedom," Zuko said as he started to draw a symbol of the air nomads next to the fire nation symbol "The air nomads detach themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom," Zuko said and then looked at Aang with a smile "Also according to the history books they had pretty good senses of humor," Zuko said and Aang chuckled
"You should have seen my master Gyatso, he was the funniest of them all," Aang said with a fond smile, and his spirits were lifted when Zuko was done talking about his element
"Water, the element of change," Zuko said as he started to draw a water tribe symbol above the Air nomad's one "The people of the water tribes are capable of adapting to many things, they have a deep sense of community, and love that holds them together through anything," Zuko said finishing his drawing
"He isn't wrong," Katara said having taken a seat in front of Zuko and next to Aang "But why are you telling us all those things?" She asked and Zuko smiled at them
"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places," He said as he drew two lines in between the drawings "If you only take it from one place it becomes stale and rancid," Zuko said as he drew a circle around the drawings "Understanding others, their elements and the other nations, will help you become whole," Zuko said and then stared at Aang
"This principle is what makes you what you are, you are the Avatar not because you can bend the four elements, but because you can learn the core of what a nation is and understand it," Zuko said and Aang looked at the drawing in fascination
"Impressive, isn't it?" Zuko asked rhetorically and Aang nodded vigorously
"Wow, how do you know all of this?" Aang asked and Zuko glanced at his backpack
"While I was in the army, I received a package from my uncle, where he explained that all to me," Zuko said "Of course, when I first read it, I thought it was all bullshit but then I started doing mercenary work," Zuko said drawing the interest of everyone there
"Is pretty interesting what you can learn from taking odd jobs here and there, like how people behave or how a simple piece of metal can mean the whole world to a person, and that's when I remember the words from my uncle," Zuko said
"That's when it hit me, people are so fucking interesting," Zuko said with a big smile on his face "I couldn't get enough, I study everyone, their mannerisms, how they behave, how they loved, how they laugh, how they cry, everything and I came to a realization," Zuko said
"What?" Aang asked with curiosity in his voice
"That people, whatever they do they were missing something, their freedom," Zuko said "The war had taken that away from them, they were scared of what the war may do to them," Zuko said with frustration in his voice "So, not knowing what I could do, I started helping with little things on my mercenary work while looking for an answer on how to give the people back their freedom," Zuko said
"Did you find an answer?" Aang asked with curiosity
"Nope, I got sidetracked and had to take a steady job, and that's how I met Toph," Zuko said while glancing at his backpack "Although maybe my answer is in front of me, only time will tell," Zuko said and Aang nodded and then started thinking for a second
"Guys I think I found my fire-bending teacher," Aang said, and the others looked at him with raised eyebrows "What do you think guys?" Aang said addressing Sokka and Katara
"Well, I'm behind whatever decision you make, besides, he doesn't seem that bad," Katara said and Zuko threw a smile at her which she responded with her own
"Sokka?" Aang asked and the male shrugged his shoulders
"Whatever helps us defeat the fire lord, I'm in," Sokka said and Zuko stared at Aang
"Then that settles it, you'll be my fire-bending teacher," Aang said and Zuko bowed in the respectful manner of the Fire Nation
"It will be my honor Aang," Zuko said straightening up "Besides the look on my father's face when he finds out will be priceless," Zuko said with a smirk on his face at the imagination of his father throwing a fit of rage
Earth Kingdom the next day early in the morning
Zuko was meditating far away from the campfire without his shirt with his bag where he keeps the dragon egg facing the sun
He heard footsteps coming towards him and he quickly got up and closed his backpack and turned around to see Katara walking toward him
"Ah, master Katara what a lovely surprise," Zuko said smiling at the water bender
"Master Katara?" Katara asked in confusion and Zuko chuckle
"Well, your Aang's water bender master, aren't you?" Zuko asked in curiosity and Katara nodded "So that's your title, might as well flaunt it," Zuko said chuckling
"Yeah, right," Katara said chuckling but Zuko catches her sad tone
"Something wrong?" Zuko asked in curiosity
"What do you mean? Everything's fine," Katara said chuckling nervously and Zuko raised an eyebrow making Katara sigh "Well actually…" Katara said and Zuko smiled
"Come on take a seat," Zuko said patting the ground next to him "See if I can help," Zuko said and Katara took a seat next to him "So, what's eating you away?" Zuko asked in curiosity
"Have you ever questioned your destiny?" Katara asked and Zuko chuckle
"Yeah, all the time, but destiny isn't something you have set in stone, it's something you make, something you create," Zuko said and then looked Katara in the eye "Are you questioning your destiny?" Zuko asked in curiosity
"More like questioning my place in all of this," Katara said and Zuko raised an eyebrow "Since we found Aang I thought I knew what I had to do, learn water bending and help Aang take down the fire nation," Katara said and then looked at her hands
"But you want more don't you?" Zuko asked and Katara nodded
"It's just that, I don't really think just taking down the fire lord will do the job," Katara said and Zuko nodded
"Well, you're right," Zuko said and Katara looked at him in confusion "The world is broken Katara, taking the fire lord down is just the first step of making this world whole again," Zuko said
"So what do we need to do?" Katara asked in anger and Zuko grabbed her hand
"We, need to live, we need to survive, and when the fire lord is defeated, we'll figure out what needs to be done," Zuko said squeezing Katara's hand
"How do you do it?" Katara asked and Zuko raised an eyebrow
"How do I do what?" Zuko asked in curiosity
"How do you stay strong? after all this time," Katara asked, and Zuko chuckle
"Determination," Zuko said and looked straight into Katara's eyes "I don't want to die, I want to live and experience my life to the fullest so I push forward, consequences be dammed," Zuko said and Katara smiled
They stared at each other for a while until Zuko noticed they were still holding hands and smirked as he looked into Katara's eyes again
"Has anyone told you that you have beautiful eyes?" Zuko asked and Katara blushed massively
"Uh, no actually no one has said that," Katara said while blushing
"Well, you do, it's a shame though," Zuko said and Katara raised an eyebrow in confusion
"A shame?" Katara asked in confusion and Zuko's free hand went to her neck as he grabbed the necklace Katara had while accidentally brushing his fingers on her neck making her blush again
"Who's the lucky one?" Zuko said looking at her necklace "This is a betrothal necklace, right?" Zuko asked in curiosity
"Ah no, I'm not betrothed, this was my gran gran's betrothal necklace, she pass it to my mom who pass it down to me," Katara said shyly and blushing at the contact Zuko had on her neck
"Oh, so there's no one in the romantic life of Katara then?" Zuko asked with a smirk on his face as he cupped her right cheek and started running his thumb along her cheek
"Ah, no not really," Katara said shyly and Zuko let out a husky chuckle
"Interesting," Zuko whispered and Katara heard him just fine "Then is fair game, isn't it?" Zuko asked with a smirk
"Fair game?" Katara asked while gulping not taking her eyes from Zuko's
"Katara," Zuko said huskily making Katara blush again "You're a beautiful girl, no scratch that, you're a beautiful woman, can you blame me if I decide to court you?" Zuko asked and Katara just stood there shocked
"I-I…" Katara started saying but their staring was broken when they heard Aang's voice coming towards them, and they quickly separated from each other
"Katara!" Aang said excitedly entering the area "Uh, what are you guys doing?" Aang asked in curiosity and what Zuko could tell was a hint of jealousy
Zuko saw the blushing Katara next to him and smirked "We were discussing how your fire-bending training should be handled and when," Zuko said and Katara looked at him with a look of gratitude that almost made Zuko chuckle
"So why are you shirtless?" Aang asked with a more jealous tone and Zuko looked down and chuckle nervously
"Ah, I was training when Katara arrived and we were so engrossed in our talk that we didn't notice it," Zuko said noticing how Katara was looking at his abdomen, then she looked at his eyes and Zuko smirked at her making her blush and turn around
"So, you were looking for Katara?" Zuko asked in curiosity as he walked to where he had put his shirt and put it on
"Oh yeah!" Aang said excitedly and Zuko grabbed his backpack and put it on his back "Toph is going to start teaching me earth bending, and I wanted to see if you wanted to see," Aang said with excitement in his eyes and Katara nodded
"Yeah sure, I'll meet you there, Zuko do you want to come too?" Katara asked the fire bender and Zuko almost chuckle at the glare he received from Aang
"Yeah sure, I always like to see Toph bending," Zuko said and Katara nodded
"Go Aang, the quicker you start the better you'll become, we'll catch you there," Katara said and Aang reluctantly nodded as he started to glide toward where Toph was
"Why did you send him away?" Zuko asked in curiosity and Katara looked at him shyly
"If you want to court me," Katara said nervously walking towards where Zuko was and grabbing the neck of his shirt whit her hands, and staring into his eyes "I'll be fine with that," Katara said letting go of his shirt and started walking away quickly leaving a frozen Zuko behind her
"Oh, I most certainly will," Zuko thought looking at where Katara had walked away with a huge smile on his face
Zuko felt a heat coming from his back and figured that the dragon egg was making fun of him and he chuckle and started walking to where the earth-bending training was taking place
Zuko got to where the rest of the gang was and he took a seat on a nearby pillar as he watch Toph start the training and an eager Aang waiting on the sidelines
"So, what are you going to teach me first?" Aang asked excitedly "Rockalanche, the earth trembler? Or maybe I could learn to make a whirlpool out of land," Aang said excitedly
"How about we start by moving a rock," Toph said pointing at two massive rocks in front of her
"Oh yeah that's cool," Aang said a little bit in defeat making Zuko chuckle a little, he then saw Katara take a seat next to him and he smirk at her making the water bender blush but she smile shyly at him nonetheless both of them fully aware of how close they were but neither of them minded
"The key to earth bending is your stance, you've got to be strong and steady, plant your feet," Toph said as she took a stance facing the rock "Rock is a stubborn element, if you're going to move it, you have to be a rock yourself," Toph said and Zuko listen to every word she said trying to gain knowledge of another element
"Like a rock, got it," Aang said taking the same stance as Toph
"Now the motion is pretty simple," Toph said as she plant her right foot forward and threw a right punch at the rock sending it far away "Okay, ready to give it a try?" Toph asked and Aang nodded
"I'm ready," Aang said doing the same movements as Toph but instead of the rock going away Aang went flying backward and came crashing down into a rock pillar
Zuko saw this and chuckle a little bit until a swap to his arm courtesy of Katara stopped his laughter
"Shut up," Katara said without malice and Zuko just chuckle again
"You have to admit it, it's quite funny," Zuko said and Katara rolled her eyes but smile a little nonetheless
Katara stood up and went to where Toph and Aang were and started talking to Toph "I don't understand what went wrong, he did exactly what you did," Katara said
"Yeah but he didn't put his back into it," Zuko said and Toph nodded
"Exactly, you're tackling this in an air bender way, you need to forget that, and tackle this as an earth bender," Toph said as she face the rock again "Head on," Toph said smashing her head into the rock breaking it apart
"Heh, dramatic much," Zuko said and Toph flip him off, Zuko then stood up as he heard the sound of a bird flying on top of it and his eyes winded
He walked to his backpack and took out some jerky beef and stretched his arm as the bird landed on his shoulder and started eating the beef from Zuko's hand
"Zuko?" Katara asked in curiosity as she saw Zuko grabbing a message from the bird "What's going on?" Katara asked and Zuko sighed
"Apparently the guild found out I don't work for the Beifongs anymore," Zuko said while reading the message "Duty calls," Zuko said cracking his neck "Hey Aang," Zuko said turning to the young Avatar
"Yeah what's up?" Aang asked in curiosity
"Think I could borrow Appa for a while?" Zuko asked looking straight at the eyes of Aang "Need to take care of this, and I can't exactly walk there," Zuko said
"Oh I don't know," Aang said nervously while searching for the eyes of Katara, he found them and the water bender smiled at him
"It's fine Aang, I trust him," Katara said and both fire bender and water bender shared a fond smile between the two
"Oh okay," Aang said missing the smile, and looked back at Zuko "Sure you can take him," Aang said and Zuko smiled
"Thanks," Zuko said as he dropped his bag carefully on the floor from it he took out his blue spirit mask, or what was left of it, and his Dao Broadswords and put them on his back while placing the mask on his face
"Toph," Zuko said in a muffled voice thanks to his mask and the girl perk up "Tell me, and don't lie, do you know what's inside of here?" Zuko asked as he lift the bag up
"Yes, I felt it when you gave it to me," Toph said and Zuko nodded
"Good, I have to ask you to guard it again, and no one but you touches it, understood?" Zuko asked in full seriousness and Toph just nodded, then he glance at Katara and Aang "I will explain what's inside when I come back," Zuko felt he needed to say that and both benders just nodded
Zuko started walking to where Appa was a thousand thoughts running through his mind
He arrived at where the familiar of the Avatar was and he pets the bison on its head "Hey friend, think you could give me a ride?" Zuko asked and the bison licked his face "I'll take that as a yes," Zuko said as he climbed on top of the bison's head
"What does Aang says to lift you up?" Zuko wonder out loud "Appa yip yip?" Zuko said not fully sure of himself and the bison started elevating itself from the ground
"Oh, well that was easy," Zuko said as he grabbed the reins of the bison "You know where Feng City is?" Zuko asked and the bison let a grunt of acknowledgment "Nice, take me there young spirit," Zuko said and Appa started flying faster
Zuko leaned back making himself comfortable as he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep trying to get energy for what he was about to do
Feng city sometime later
Zuko and Appa arrived at the city and the fire nation teen patted the bison on its head "Drop in the outskirts of the city buddy, and be prepared for a quick escape," Zuko said as the bison drop down to the ground and Zuko quickly got down from the bison
He adjust his mouthpiece and place his hoodie over his head "Let's hope for an easy mission," Zuko whispered as he walked into the city
He stuck to the alleys and shadows of the city before deciding to climb a building to get a better look
He looked straight at the main fortress of the city before taking out the scroll and reading the mission again just to be sure
"Greetings blue spirit, job is simple, locate and terminate the life of captain Chen, he murdered and rape the daughter of our client and he wants retribution," Zuko read the scroll out loud "Also, Chen is the author of the battle of the two rivers, so this is a personal job for us, and we want you to send a message, a bloody one, and we won't be disappointed Blue Spirit, sincerely the guild," Zuko sighed as he finished reading the scroll
"Fucking assholes," Zuko murmured as he burned the scroll away and dropped to the ground
He walked with a slow pace towards the fortress as he saw two guards standing guard outside of the fortress
"Go away mercenary, squad 54 is not receiving any visitors," One of the guards said as Zuko kept walking forward
"We said no visitors," The other guard said as he grabbed the shoulder of Zuko stopping him Zuko grabbed the wrist of the guard and quickly broke it making the guard scream the other guard winded and took a stance but before he could attack Zuko took out one of his swords and cut the guards neck making him gargle on his blood and dropped down dead
Zuko looked down at the soldier with the broken wrist with dead dark eyes "I'm sorry, it's a matter of life and death, emphasis on the death," Zuko said as he stabbed the face of the soldier killing him in the process and flicking sword to get rid of the blood
He entered casually to the fortress and saw the soldiers stop what they were doing to look at him "I'm looking for Captain Chen, I have a business to attend to with him," Zuko said as he scanned the area with his eyes
He counted thirteen soldiers on the first floor with more surely on the second floor, so he would have to be quick and swift if he wants to succeed with this endeavor
"Captain Chen hasn't requested any mercenaries lately, so fuck off," One of the soldiers, the one next to the booth of the fortress said
Zuko looked at the table next to him and saw a glass of whiskey on top of it, he grabbed it and started moving the liquid around and then looked back at the soldier who had spoken up "As I said, I have business with him, so be a dear and call him for me," Zuko said as the soldier looked at him in confusion
"The fuck are you…" He started saying but didn't finish as Zuko threw the glass at him hitting him in the face as the glass shattered on the soldier's face and the soldier scream in pain
The other soldiers winded but Zuko was too fast for them as he attacked a group of three soldiers slicing their necks in a quick swift motion, before anyone could blink the trio of guards dropped to the floor dead with Zuko's face covered in the guard's blood
That quickly woke the instincts of the soldiers as one of the soldiers sent a fireball to Zuko who just redirected it to the soldier whom he had thrown the glass, and because his face was soaked with whiskey he started burning up and going into a fit of screams again
Zuko using the distraction with his foot lift one of the dead soldier's swords and grabbed it with his free hand and send it flying into a soldier's chest making the number of soldiers go from thirteen to eight
Zuko drew his other sword and twirl them around as the soldiers got afraid of him and took an uneasy battle stance "Sadly I cannot let you go, I have a message to send, but you can surrender and your deaths will be quick, and painless," Zuko said looking at the soldiers and saw some of them leaning to agree with him
But an overzealous soldier broke that indecision "Don't you dare to listen to him, we have a duty to our nation!" The soldier said as Zuko sighed and took a deep breath in as he let out some red dark flames out of his fists
"I know about the duty to our nation, but you have betrayed that duty, and it's not your fault, it's your leaders, your generals, your captain's fault," Zuko said as he glared at the soldiers as the red flames danced around him "Know this, you have done a great service to your nation, and I hope Agni receives you into his embrace," Zuko said as the flames exploded forward and hit the soldiers burning them in the process
Zuko sighed as he walked away to the second floor while ignoring the screaming from the soldiers behind him
He arrived at the second floor and saw five different rooms, he check the first four but found nothing but armor, weapons, and supplies there so he walked to the final room
He enter the room quietly and saw something that enraged him, the Captain was raping a woman while his back was facing the door, he looked around and saw several broken women on the floor, who looked at him with pleading eyes
Zuko quickly walked forward and grabbed the head of the Captain by the back of his hair letting the woman escape as the captain glared at Zuko
"Who the fuck are you? What's this all about?" The captain said trying to escape the hold Zuko had but the young fire-bender quickly slashed the throat of the captain just enough for him to gargle on his blood
Zuko dropped the captain to the floor as he put his feet on the Captain's chest and looked down "You're fucking disgusting, I pray that the flames from Agni won't guide you to the afterlife," Zuko said as the captain's life fade from his eyes
"Ladies, are you okay?" Zuko asked as the ladies looked at him in fear and shame "It's okay, he won't hurt you anymore, please grab some clothes and leave this place, go to a doctor or to your families, everyone's dead, no one will harm you," Zuko said as the ladies quickly got up and grabbed some robes and sheets and put them around themselves and quickly got out
Zuko sighed looking at how the ladies had run away, and then looked down at the captain, he crouched down and with his sword started taking the Captain's head from his body
After a while, he had taken out the head and grabbed a sheet from the bed and wrapped it around the head hiding it from plain sight, and tied it to his waist
He looked back at the room and remember that he had to send a message so, he send a big fire stream into the room lighting it up in flames
He kept sending the fire stream into the building as the building started catching up in flames, he walked out of the building and saw that he had gathered a crowd outside of the building
"Thank you," An elderly person said walking forward
"You shouldn't thank me wise one," Zuko said looking at the old man "The fire nation will hear about this, when they come asking, tell them that the blue spirit came and took retribution for the battle of the two rivers and that if decide to take retribution on you," Zuko said looking around the group of people "They will visit Agni sooner than they would like," Zuko said walking away from the area
He arrived where he had left Appa, who looked at him and sniffed him "Yeah, sorry about the blood friend, but my mission hasn't finished yet, think you could let me ride like this? I'll clean your saddle later," Zuko said and Appa grumbled but put its head down nonetheless
Zuko climbed on top of the flying bison and quickly flew away from the area, he direct Appa to a secluded farm on the outskirts of the village and once they arrived at it he told Appa to quickly get down
He got off the animal as he walked to the entrance of the farm and knocked on the door
He waited for a while until a middle-aged man with somber and broken eyes opened the door "Yeah, is there something I can do for you?" The man said and Zuko dropped the captain's head on the ground between them
"It is done, your daughter's killer is dead," Zuko said as the man crouched down and unfolded the wrapping around the head and his eyes winded "For what is worth, you have my condolences," Zuko said as the man stood back up and nodded at him
"Thank you, at least my daughter can be at peace now," The man said as he grabbed a bag of coins from the table next to him and handed it to Zuko "Here, fifty pieces of gold, as we agreed," The man said as Zuko grabbed the bag
"Thank you, and some advice," Zuko said tying the bag to his waist "Live, your daughter wouldn't want you to join her into the spirits embrace so soon," Zuko said leaving the area so the man could think
Back at the Avatar camp
Zuko had arrived at their camp and had landed on an isolated lake, he took Appa's saddle out of the bison and put it in the water as he started cleaning himself from the blood, as well as his weapons and the saddle
"I sensed you coming back, everything okay?" Zuko looked to his right to see Toph walking to him with his bag on her back alongside Aang's staff
"As well as you can expect," Zuko said continuing to clean himself
"That smell, is blood isn't it?" Toph asked and Zuko sighed "Are you hurt, I can call Katara," Toph said in concern and Zuko looked at her
"No, there's no need, it's not my blood after all," Zuko said as Toph walked close to him and she looked at him with sympathy in her eyes "There's no need for your concern Toph, I've been doing this for a while, I'm fine," Zuko said and Toph scoffed
"You know I can tell when someone is lying, right?" Toph said and Zuko let out a dry chuckle
"Right, I forgot about that," Zuko said as he looked back at Toph who was expecting an answer from him "My nation is broken Toph, and the only way it can heal again is in the hands of a child Toph, it makes me feel impotent," Zuko said cleaning his sword more forcefully
"And it's not the soldier's fault, but going against the fire nation is dishonorable, and my people is all about honor and shit," Zuko said still cleaning his sword with purpose missing how Toph had walked up to him "Is just so fucking stupid and pathetic, I can see my people dying for a cost they don't actually believe in, while generals and politics jerk off on their ivory towers, completely ignorant of the real situation that's going through the world, and the world is just stupid and lazy to do anything about it," Zuko said as some steam started pouring from his skin
"Zuko, calm down, it's over," Toph said reassuringly as she placed her hand on Zuko's shoulder "There's an answer out there Zu, and I know you'll find it," Toph said as Zuko fell down
"But how many people need to die before I find it?" Zuko asked in a broken voice that almost made Toph tear up
"Hey, it's going to be alright I promise," Toph said as she took a seat next to Zuko
"No, it's not, because for me to fix this world, I need to break a thirteen-year-old apart," Zuko said looking at the lake in front of him "Because the people who are supposed to take care of the world, are too fucking lazy to do anything about it," Zuko said sighing
"What do you mean tear him apart?" Toph asked in confusion
"You know what I mean, you and me, we can sense a people's character in a blink of an eye, if he fights my father right now, even if he knows all the elements, he will die," Zuko said rubbing his face
"Yeah you're probably right, so how are you going to break him?" Toph asked and Zuko sighed
"I'm going to teach him about fire bending, in all its glory," Zuko said "Guess I need to start preparing myself mentally for it, speaking of which, how's the training going?" Zuko asked in curiosity
"He's being a little bitch, running away from the situation instead of facing it, hell I stole his bo staff and he didn't even bat an eye," Toph said with a chuckle "I suppose I should check on him, I'll see you later sparky," Toph said as she handed him his bag
Zuko saw Toph disappear from the clearing as he put his hand on top of his bag "Sorry for leaving you so long little one," Zuko said as he sensed a little heat coming from the egg "I know, I know, it's pathetic to be sad and depressed, it's not the way of the fire," Zuko said as he sighed
"It's been almost a year now, you should get out of your shell soon," Zuko whispered as a lot of heat coming from the bag "That makes you happy huh? Soon little one, you'll be stretching your wings and breathing fire next to me," Zuko said with a small smile on his face
He may not know what to do about the world, but he knew what to do about himself right now, and that was to be the very best fire-bending teacher he could be
Camp sometime later
Zuko had set up a bone fire and was cooking a huge steak meal and some vegetable soup for the gang as he was waiting for them to come back
He saw them come back with a disheveled and tired Sokka, who quickly ran to the fire and waited for the food to be done "The hell happened to you?" Zuko asked in confusion
"The moron fell into a hole while he was hunting," Toph said with a smirk on her face as she took a seat next to the fire bender "At least something good came out of it, Aang stood his ground," Toph said as the Avatar beamed in excitement
"Guessing the lessons went good?" Zuko asked with a smirk as Aang smiled and nodded "Good, that means we can start on your fire bending," Zuko said as Aang gulped
"So soon?" Aang asked in shock "Shouldn't I know a little bit more about earth bending before I start fire bending?" Aang asked and Zuko nodded
"In a normal situation, you'll start fire bending when you master earth bending," Zuko said while sighing "But, time is not our friend, so I need to get as much information about fire bending as I can, and you need experience," Zuko said gaining the confusion of all the members except Toph
"What do you mean about the experience?" Katara asked as Zuko looked at her
"I'm going to take a wild guess based on how you fought my sister, you fight running away, and when you face my father, that won't do you any good," Zuko said looking at Aang in seriousness "My father, is the most powerful man in the world, but he's not the greatest fire bender in the world," Zuko said as the group looked at him in confusion
"I am the greatest fire bender in the world," Zuko said with a wicked smile on his face "And even if you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you tomorrow," Zuko said as he grabbed his bag "Also, I did make you a promise," Zuko said as he took out his precious treasure from his bag
"This is why the bag is so important to me," Zuko said showing them the blue-scale dragon egg to the rest of group "My masters gave their child to me so that it could be my companion," Zuko said as the group looked at Zuko in amazement and confusion
"Wait, masters?" Sokka asked in confusion as he figure out he was talking about dragons
"I learn Fire Bending from its original source, dragons," Zuko said looking at Aang with a smirk on his face "And I will pass their teachings to you," Zuko said while pouring out a powerful energy that made Aang gulp
End of chapter 3